10 English words difficult to pronounce | American Accent 1-1 with @AndrÉs En InglÉs PART 2

English with Hadar Shemesh

19

- Hey everyone, it's Hadar.

Thank you for joining me.

Do you know these words that always get stuck in your mouth

when you say them?

And you're so frustrated and you think

that there's something wrong with you.

Well, today along with Andres from Andres en Ingles

we're going to talk about these words.

Before sitting together Andres posted a question

to his community

asking what are the most difficult words for you?

It was so interesting to see how many of the same words

came up in those all of those answers.

So today we're going to tackle the most confusing words

for Spanish-speaking people.

Also don't forget to go check out the interview

I had on Andres's channel,

there, we talked about speaking English

as a non-native speaker,

English learning methods,

limiting beliefs and so much more.

It's a lot of fun,

so definitely go check it out

and be sure to subscribe while you're there.

Let's check out how to pronounce the most complicated words

for a non-native speakers.

- Thank you everybody who sent me those words.

And I wanna start with one

that is very difficult for me

and I've been trying to master it.

Can we start with the word 'world'?

Am I saying that right?

- Actually you were very...

It's almost there.

And it is a very challenging word.

Let's break it down.

So we start with the W sound,

'wo'. - 'Wo'.

- And for that you round your lips, right.

- 'Wo', yeah.

- But then even though there is an 'O' here,

you don't wanna pronounce it,

like there is no O.

You want to delete it.

- So what would you do?

- And you shift to the R directly.

So from the W to the R.

Wrr. - Oh my God!

Oh my God! - Yes!

- It's groundbreaking.

- Yes.

- Let me just try that again.

- Oh, that was really good.

The system works.

- You definitely should try her course on,

I always try to say improving your accent,

but I know that's wrong.

- No, improving your accent works.

- But speaking with clarity...

- Okay, let me try that again.

- And I'm gonna say one more thing

for people who are not that familiar

with the dark L as you do.

So for your, you know,

your Spanish-speaking community,

there is no 'll', right?

They would go to...

they may say something like

"weld," - "Wold."

- or "werd".

They won't "or,"

which is "word."

It may be pronounced as a D.

So the L is important.

Now, can you tell me what happens

in your mouth when you say the L sound?

My tongue kinda like...

The movement is...

It forms like a little U inside.

Like something stretches there in the back.

And basically the L is this 'll' sound.

- I've been watching so many videos of pronunciation

and they try to show you the position of the tongue and

sometimes I can't understand.

But when you give me an example

like you just did, - Yeah.

- And you said like...

That's what we need.

And that's like you tell me put your tongue this way,

and I'll be like,

"I can't,"

I don't even know how to like,

that we don't know how to use.

But when you said to me,

"Just drop the O"--

And everything is just like fell into place.

And you just listen to the pure sounds

that your mouth will know how to make

and you let go.

- Like, honestly, I'm blown away by this,

- So if you think of it,

I would write it differently,

I would write it W-E-R-E, were,

and I'll put probably like three L's, lll,

So we have the word World.

- Yes.

- It sounds so good.

- Oh my God, I'm so happy.

- Someone also requested the word 'word'.

- [Andres] Word.

- Which is basically like world with no L.

- So when you have that D

at the end. - Yes?

- Is that a strong sound?

- You don't want it to sound like a T.

So you don't want to say "wort."

- Which sometimes I'm afraid it's like

I'm being too hard on the D at the end.

- Yeah, but you gotta make that sound.

- But it has to be subtle?

- Listen, it's like this,

D.

So you have to hold that.

- Just do this,

D, D. - Word.

- D, word. - Word.

- Yes!

It wasn't that bad,

because I did that right,

so move on to the next word.

- Let's move on to the next word.

- So different between Thursday and Tuesday.

- Yeah, that's a tricky one,

- So Thursday starts with a T-H

and then the R immediately.

Let's do it together.

So you stick your tongue out for the T-H

and then you pull it in for the R.

Thur-sday. - Thursday.

- And then it's a Z sound.

- Is it like a Z sound?

- Yeah, Thursday. - Thursday.

So you have to feel that vibration.

- I'm learning it from the best.

- (laughs) Thur-z-day.

- So Thursday and Tuesday.

- Tuesday, yeah.

- So Thursday has that T-H-R,

thurz, Z and day.

- Thursday. - Right.

And also it's important to do the entire vowel,

So instead of Thursday,

Thurs-day. - Thurs-day.

always think of it as like the second day of the week.

- Tuesday. - Like Monday, Tuesday.

We start with two. - Two-zday.

- That would be like--

- Do you do the Z sound?

- Tuesday, yeah.

The Z.

- Oh this is very difficult,

I don't even know how to pronounce that.

Am I saying that right?

So, the beginning was great, mur.

- Mur.

- But then make sure that you don't stick

that tongue out for the D, 'ther'.

Remember that the D in Spanish

turns into a T-H.

- Yeah, so the D needs to be strong.

- Murder. - The tongue needs to be

on the upper palate. - Oh!

You know it's funny.

I'm now finding that a lot of the differences

are based on the fact that we're not touching

the upper part of our mouth.

- For the D.

- For some letters.

- For some sounds, yes. - Some sounds.

- So for the D for Spanish speakers,

when the D is in the middle of the word

between vowels,

then the tongue touches the teeth

and you need to bring it to the fleshy part,

to the gums. - Murder.

- So mur-der. - Mur-der.

- Der.

- Now, the D is lighter.

So it needs a little... - Is it lighter?

- Yeah, murder. - Murder.

Yeah, because it feels like it is there,

but it's not. - Yeah.

- Actually this D is like the flat T,

which is like the short Spanish R.

- Okay, I wanna try that.

- You're gonna try that.

- Okay, uncomfortable.

- That was great.

- Okay, so let's break it down for--

- So, you will break it down,

'cause I kinda think

I know how it sounds

because I use this word a lot.

So if you read it phonetically it would be

un-com-for-table.

Right? - Oh yeah.

- Uncomfortable.

Un. - Un.

- Cumf. - Cumf.

- Tur. - Tur.

- Bol.

- Uncomfortable.

- Good, do it again.

- Uncomfortable.

And the 'bol' at the end

which you're doing super nicely,

So a little trick that will help you,

if you say uncomforta-bel,

like a light L.

Is to add, to think as if you're adding an O

between the B and the L.

- Yes.

- Uncomforta-bol.

- I think I said that in one of my videos,

it's like a hack that I use.

- Exactly. - There's no really a proper

use of it, but it's a hack.

- It's a hack and it's a good one.

- It's a life hack.

So this is like everybody's drinking now for Halloween.

- Ooh!

And I didn't like the thing.

So you try it. - So let me try it.

Pumpkin spice latte.

- Yeah, very good.

So the P in the middle is not super clear.

- Say it again.

So pum-kin - Pumpkin.

- Not how would some Spanish speakers say it.

- But no E before an S-P.

I saw this in one of her videos

and I thought it was so helpful.

Just try to be like ssss-spice.

- Right, start with an S 'cause you don't--

- And that would sound like an S,

- An S right, exactly.

So make an S the little longer,

then you won't accidentally add an 'e' sound

like you would in Spanish.

So pumpkin spice,

and you wanna connect it.

- Pumpkin spice.

- That is actually not an English word.

- Not an English word.

But when you use it America

or in the place where people speak English,

then you wanna use the English sounds.

So instead of latte,

That would be like,

what kind of A?

- A as in 'father'.

- 'Father', okay.

- Right 'a' as in 'father'.

- And not te, but tei.

- Tei.

- There're never words that end with end with 'e'.

So it's probably going to be a long ei sound.

Laa-tei. - Laa-tei.

- Ballei, cafei. - Cafei, okay.

Not e, not cafe.

- So pumpkin spice latte.

- Latei, oh right.

- Try it again.

- Pumpkin spice lattei.

- Yes.

- Oh, that's a good one.

- If it's not a boy,

- Yes.

So you wanna round your lips a little bit.

Move from the G sound to the R.

- G'r.

- Just g'r. - Gr.

- And then you create that tension

in the back of your tongue for the L.

So for the dark L you don't even have to bring

the tip of the tongue up,

you can just create that tension.

- So one thing that I think confuses a lot of people

The sound of the I

that everybody's looking for that.

- You're gonna be trying to say 'e-ger'.

That'll do it. - Yes.

Don't forget to round your lips just a little bit.

- Occur, g'rl. - Yeah.

It gives it a deeper sound

- I want to stop you here

and talk a little bit about your voice is going to change.

Like I learned this.

It's like sometimes we're afraid because we are...

I started listening to myself,

especially when I'm recording,

which is part of her course,

But when I record myself, like,

"Oh, I sound deeper,

"is that my real voice?

"Am I faking it too much?"

That's such a good question.

And it comes up so often with my students.

So, English is placed differently in the body

and in the mouth.

So Spanish, for example, it's more of a head voice,

it's a little nasal.

- It is.

- And in English, the voice resonates more in the chest.

And that's the deeper voice that you're hearing.

And actually if you don't hear it,

you can practice it by dropping your voice more

towards your chest.

Of course, if it doesn't feel comfortable

then it's okay, you know,

it's not the first thing that you need to focus.

But to your question,

like I think that if you feel

that it sounds a little different.

It makes sense.

Now, I'm gonna add something small to it.

Sometimes we change the voice

because we're nervous.

Sometimes you may find yourself speaking

at much higher or much lower voice.

And you wanna recognize that if you sound unclear

that maybe you're changing the voice

in the wrong way,

in the way that doesn't allow your voice to come out.

So make sure that you also don't speak in a very high voice

that is different from your average,

or very low, low quiet voice,

because when you're too low you, can't go loud.

You know, if you feel your voice is too soft

then maybe it's because you're misusing it.

So you always wanna feel comfortable

but it's okay if it's slightly different.

- Alright, and also we we're talking about this on my video,

when you speak faster,

but you're doing it wrong.

- What do you call it?

- I call it the bad fast speaker.

- So, it happened to me just before,

and she called me on it.

So can we talk a little bit about that?

- Yes, so you started,

like, if you watch your videos in Spanish,

you are like a,

You starting like (imitates fast speech).

I wish I could do it in Spanish.

One day I will be able to do that.

- I'll teach you that.

- Yes!

With your new channel.

- Yes.

- You're gonna be teaching Spanish.

I'm gonna be your first subscriber.

So, you go so fast.

Spanish is the language where the vowels are very short.

So not only you can feel confident

and you have your own rhythm,

but also the vowels are short,

so you move quickly from one sound to another.

In English, there are longer vowels,

like all the O and A,

and if you try to squeeze it

into the rhythm of Spanish,

it's just not gonna sound right.

That's the first thing.

Second, like a lot of words in English are stretched,

all the stressed words.

So when you speak fast and you try to implement

like rhythm of Spanish,

you're not clear.

And you get stuck

which is what happened,

because you were coming like,

this is how I'm used to speaking,

expecting yourself to show up like this in English.

But no, you gotta have a different speaking strategy.

So I told you to slow down. - Yes.

- And then you sounded amazing.

- And to breathe.

- And to breathe.

- And I think it's also, it plays on all the speakers,

that we think that by speaking faster

we're speaking better. - Oh, yeah!

That's a good point. - Yeah.

- We're better or

people won't notice our mistakes.

- Yes! - Yes.

Speaking so fast, of course they won't notice

'cause they won't understand either.

- They probably will be like, "What?"

- Or just nod and be like, yeah.

- So think about that

when you're speak in English.

Just slow down,

breathe and give yourself a chance.

And allow the work that you've done to show up.

Because when you slow down, it will.

Check out my video!

There is that one sound in the middle

that I'm missing which is the j sound.

- Wol.

Let's try that out.

- Ske.

- Ske.

- So first of all, not eske.

- Did I say eske?

- No, no, no.

You said it right.

I'm like anticipating.

- Alright, thanks.

- Ske.

- Ske.

- Ju.

- Ju.

- So you want to feel the vibrations,

it's a voiced sound. - Ske-ju.

- Now let's break it down to two. Ske-ju.

And think about it as if you have W-O-L.

Ju - Ju.

- ol. - Wol.

- Wol?

- Yeah, 'cause technically it's a dark L,

and you have a u sound before,

so what you get is that w sound.

- Wol?

The same family, that animal.

Can I try that?

- Yes, please go.

- Okay, this is a tough one.

- Can you guess,

can you guess what it is?

- Okay good, say it again.

- Yes, squirrel.

- So you wanna think of it as one sound

one syllable. - Squirrel.

- And the animal would be the longest I.

- No, there's no I.

Sk, listen to the sound,

sk-w'rl. - Sk-wurl.

So we have-- - Sk-w'rl.

- So we have skw,

the W shifts into the R.

and the R shifts into the L

adding that mini O that helps us.

- Yeah. Do it again.

Round your lips just a little.

- Okay, sk-w'rl.

- Yes!

- You know what I'm learning a lot today,

about like O, sk-w'rl - Yep, so important.

It gives you a deeper quality to your 'r' sound,

even if you get your tongue right.

A lot of people don't push the lips

and then it sounds like skweerl.

Round your lips,

it'll give you a deeper sound. - Round your lips.

- And that way you won't add extra vowels that don't exist.

- I think that might be my best take away from this video.

- Okay, let's try one more word.

- One more word.

Must have been.

- 'Cause then we get to talk about the shortcuts.

The word 'have' is usually

reduced when it's unstressed to 'a'.

Which is the 'shwa'.

For those of you who know, you know the 'shwa' sound.

I have a video about it

and I'm gonna link to it here.

So, instead of saying 'must have been',

just add the 'i' sound after the 'must'.

Musta been. - Musta been.

- It musta been hard. - It musta been hard.

- It musta been great. - It musta been great.

- It musta been challenging. - It musta been challenging.

- But you did it.

Oh, wow, that's great.

What do you call that?

- I would call it reductions or reduced English

where you reduce the less important part

and connect it together.

- Well, this is great.

I hope this helped your community to understand

that we all go through challenges

when we are learning a new language.

- And just to show that no matter where you...

(stumbling over words)

- And just to show you that it happens to all of us!

- All of us. Oh, my god. If you watch my outtakes,

I'm like, (imitates stumbling over words).

No matter where you're at on your journey,

there's always something to learn

and we're always open to learning, even me,

like, to making mistakes, to be open about

and not a big deal, right? - Yeah.

- Because, that's the only way to learn.

- That's the way we learn.

- Okay, that's it. Thank you so much for watching.

If you like this video, don't forget to subscribe.

Don't forget to subscribe to Andres' channel.

- And give us a thumbs up if you like it.

- Absolutely, and I will see you here,

next week, in the next video.

- Bye. - Adios.